January Rat

OK, so they may have a terribly bad press and they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think rats are adorable!

I have several brand new shiny calendars for this year (I like calendars) and the "Rat Calendar" is at the top of the stairs. In this house, 2011 is the year in which I hope, finally, to share my life with a couple of these adorable little beasties (the plan being to keep them in my study, where the cats are not allowed in any case because I keep my viola out ready to play). The Wonderspouse rather rashly promised I could get them for my birthday (a significant one this year) when it seemed a long way off, and now we're in that very calendar year!

How exciting!

I should explain that I first fell in love with the little chaps while on an Open University summer school studying behaviourism. We had to train rats to press buttons to get food, which was fascinating and wonderful. I called my rats Norma and Sue, after my lab partners on the course, and would have taken them home at the end except that I was single, living in a London flat with no pet permission, and spent a lot of time travelling all over the country to conferences and so on.

So, for many years now I've contented myself with chatting to any of the little lovelies I meet in pet shops and so on! I've been learning about them, how they don't like to live alone, and what sort of care they'll need etc.

This year, it's looking increasingly likely that I can find a way to have some adorable little companions next to my desk, nibbling rat nuggets with their poppety little paws, and twitching their darling little whiskers!

In the meantime, the rat calendar is up, and the Wonderspouse is busy telling me they'll be MY responsibility whenever he thinks to!

(Secretly, he loves them too though!)

As for the day, after staying up late last night to see the New Year in, it's been a quiet day on the sofas! There are plans afoot to try the new curry place, which has recently opened in town, a bit later on though! Yummy!